Page 147 of Beyond the Blue Horizon
He hooked my pinky finger with his, letting our hands swing between us. “Come on. I think your little man is probably bouncing off the walls with excitement. Bet he’s been asking Nelly every five minutes when his mommy is getting home.”
A coil of wonder and alarm squeezed my ribs.
This man was so obscenely hard and so freaking considerate.
He pushed open the door to the snow that eddied from the sky.
Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he went striding down the sidewalk, as if he expected me to follow.
I did.
Of course, I did.
Scrambling to catch up as I heaved out from behind, “I thought you said you came because you needed to give something to me?”
“I did.” Theo stopped walking and turned around.
Three feet away from him, I fumbled to a standstill. “What?”
He swept a hand toward the street.
I frowned, trying to decipher what he was gesturing at.
“Where?”
He took a step closer to the street and glided a hand over the front bumper of a white Volvo SUV that sat at the curb. “This.”
Um, what?
“What do you mean?”
Theo hiked a casual shoulder. “Figured since you’re going to be staying for a while and your car is in the shop, you were going to need a way to get around.”
It took me a second to come to the conclusion of what he was actually implying.
Had he lost his mind?
“Tell me you didn’t actually buy me a car?”
He shrugged like it was no big deal. “It’s a rental, Pipes. Silas had it sitting around, and he helped me drop it here for you. No need for you to get upset.”
“No need to get upset?” I spluttered, stepping toward him in a surge of disbelief.
In horror and gratitude and the riot of emotion this man elicited.
“You know I can’t accept this.”
“Sure you can.” It was a grunt of simplicity. “Told you I want to take care of you.”
“I can’t let you do that,” I wheezed.
Theo stepped forward.
A tower.
A shield.
A distinct, invincible threat.
